时间：2022-07-14 09:49:17
THE fifth day of the fifth moonon the Chinese lunar calendaris the Duanwu Festival of theHan people.It's known as theDragon Boat Festival in English,becauseon that day people in riverine or lakesidecommunities will hold dragon boat races.The day was originally dedicated to fa-mous ancient poet Qu Yuan (34o-278B.C.).History has it that Qu Yuan was anaristocrat of Chu,one of the vassal statesduring the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.).,He was exiled to Hunan as apolitical dissident.After the State of Chuwas defeated and annexed,the poet,toshow his loyalty to his state,threw him-self into the Miluo River and drowned.The locals,who admired his noble actof patriotism,rowed their boats outon the river dropping rice balls as theywent,to feed the fish and shrimps sothey wouldn't nibble at Qu Yuan's body.This gesture of good will has evolvedinto a commemorative annual traditionof eating zongzi (steamed glutinous ricewrapped in leaves to form a pyramidshape) and holding dragon boat racesthat day.
Yueyang City in northeastern Htmanis where the Miluo River joins DongfingLake,and the city is the origin of thedragon boat race.In the 198os the mu-nicipal government promoted this folktradition into an international event andhas since hosted it on its Nanhu Lakeevery fifth day of the fifth lunar moon.Over the past three decades,the YueyangInternational Dragon Boat Festival hassigned up an increasing number of for-eign participants,and the China NationalTourism Administration has listed it as aregular folklore event recommended forforeign tourists.
Yueyang is also a famous destinationthat dates back to ancient China andhas many tourism attractions.YueyangTower,Junshan Mountain and DongtingLake are iconic sites,rich in both historicand cultural significance.
Conventions and Customs
Because the Duanwu,alias Duanyang,Festival is one of the major traditionalcelebrations of the Han Chinese peoplethere are many other must-do's of theday besides eating zongzi and cheeringon,or participating in,the dragon boatrace.Though activities vary from placeto place,some observances are common,such as hanging calamus and mugworton doors,wearing a sachet on the body,and drinking realgar wine.
In the early hotter days arriving withthe fifth moon (in June on the Gregoriancalendar) flies and mosquitoes start toproliferate.Ancient Chinese found thatcalamus and mugwvort drive away theseannoying bugs,so every family hung abunch of such herbs on their door.Peo-ple would also take a mugwort bath onthe day to ease skin irritations and dispelpathogens so they would stay safe andsound for the rest of the summer.Dex-terous housewives would sew the color-ful sachets and bind the herbs into them;these were worn on the body as perfumeor put into wardrobes and clothes cheststo ward off mildew and vermin.
The Duanwu ushers in a time of year (618-907).On a snowy winter'sday,a young scholar named LiuYi was on his way to take theimperial exam in the capital andmet a shepherd girl,who turnedout to be the third princess of theDragon King of Dongting Lake.The young woman was marriedto an abusive husband native tothis area.Learning that Liu Yiwas from her hometown,ThirdPrincess begged him to send aword to her family.Out of sym-pathy for her,Liu Yi abandonedhis mission to take the exam andturned back home to deliver hermessage.Happily,Third Princesswas rescued and returned to herfamily.She expressed her grati-tude by marrying him.
Junshan has no shortage oflegendary sites.There are alsoa Xiangfei Temple and a LiuyiWell,and Qinshihuang,the FirstEmperor of the Qin Dynasty,wassaid to suppress the waves byaffixing seals to the sheer moun-tain cliff sides.
The islet shelters a JunshanSilver Needle tea planation,producing leaves of such superbquality it was listed an impe-rial tribute by the Tang imperialcourt and remained so in the fol-lowing dynasties.